10 Things I Love About Chickens

1. They lay eggs almost every single day. Healthy nutritious eggs – if I add flax seed to their feed ration, they are what is called Omega 3 farm fresh eggs!

2. They don’t have a smelly house. If I make sure to completely clean out the coop twice a year and at all other times make sure there is a good layer of hay being thrown on top of the bedding, chicken coops will not smell.

3. If I have a rooster and a broody hen, chances are that I could get baby chicks at no extra cost.

4. Chickens taste pretty darn good – older laying hens can be stewed for a delicious meal. Young meat birds are fantastic roasters and can reach 6 pounds easily.

5. They keep the bug population down – Chickens love running around chasing and catching bugs. If you let your chickens free range, you will notice a difference in the bug population around your house.

6. Chickens eat weeds – Instead of throwing our weeds on the compost, we throw them to the chickens. They love them and the greens are really healthy for them.

7. Chickens love to work – Put some temporary fencing around any area in your yard that needs to be worked over. Chickens will do that for you and they will let you know how happy they are by laying some nice eggs for you.

8. Chickens eat almost all kitchen scraps – We don’t actually have compost piles. With our kitchen scraps, we keep them all in a bucket in the kitchen and each morning, bring the contents down to the chickens. Leftover veggies from dinner, scraps of meat, old bread – all these things get fed off to them. We have found they don’t like onions or citrus, everything else is enjoyed and gobbled up quickly.

9. Chickens create manure – not a lot of it but when you combine it with the spent bedding they have in their coop, you may be surprised how much compost you will end up with.

10. Most chickens don’t seem to mind if you pick them up and give them a cuddle.

"I have contemplated a well-hoed ridge of potatoes on that bush farm with as much delight as in years long past I had experienced in examining a fine painting."
Susanna Moodie, Roughing It in the Bush, 1852